The field of the present invention relates to tire-made artificial reefs which are placed on a water bottom for the enhancement of plant and animal aquatic life.
Heretofore a variety of artificial reefs have been proposed and constructed. One type of artificial reef consists of a plurality of tires formed in pyramidal modules, the modules assembled together and secured by heavy weights on the water bottom. This type of reef is unsatisfactory because fastenings and moorings often loosen and break away under storms. In an offshore California experiment, such an artificial reef was constructed but resulted in tires being scattered on neighboring beaches.
Another type of reef is made of a plurality of units consisting of tires partially embedded in concrete blocks. Such a construction is as much a concrete reef as a tire reef, with the correlative concrete reef disadvantages of weight, subsidence, expensiveness and lack of internal spaces.
Henceforth, aquatic enhancement programs need a new type of artificial reef which is inexpensive, sea life productive and resistant to surge and storm. Also, the present inventor has recognized that it is desirable for the artificial reef to be advantageously constructed from old automobile tires which are free of cost, have a very long life span and provide excellent sea life habitats because of their extended internal and external surfaces. In the U.S.A. there are 200 million old tires which yearly add to the industrial Waste. Changing the land environmental nuisance of old tires into a sea benefit for marine plants and animals is an ecological recycling achievement. The present inventor recognized this benefit in his co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/748,855 filed Aug. 23, 1991, which is hereby incorporated by reference.